College football analyst RJ Young has identified the USC Trojans as a potential "sleeper" team to win the National Championship in the 2026 season. Young, speaking on FS1's "First Things First," suggested that USC warrants close attention due to its returning talent and coaching.
USC's offense is expected to be a strong suit, returning quarterback Jayden Maiava and head coach Lincoln Riley, who calls the plays. The Trojans finished as the No. 1 offense in the Big Ten Conference last season, averaging 471.6 yards and 36.5 points per game. Maiava led the conference in passing yards with 3,431, throwing for 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
While Maiava is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, he will be without wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, who declared for the NFL Draft. However, Young pointed to the running back duo of Waymond Jordan and King Miller as the best Riley has coached since his time at Oklahoma with Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon.
The Trojans' defense was a notable weakness last season, ranking outside the top ten in the Big Ten and giving up an average of 143.2 rushing yards and 207.5 passing yards per game. The team was also among the most penalized in the conference, averaging 5.7 penalties per game. In response to these challenges, the team parted ways with former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and hired former TCU head coach Gary Patterson. Young described the pairing of Patterson and Riley as one of the best coordinator tandems in college football.
This upcoming season is considered a critical one for Lincoln Riley and the USC program.